Automobile-lamp.



O. M. OTTE.

AUTOMOBILE LAMP. APPLICATION FILED JULY 11. I917.

Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

QSHEETS-SHEET l- O. M. OTTE.

AUTOMOBILE LAMP. APPLICATION FILED IULY n. 1917.

Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

I l l 1 1 i- 1 -J- J I 0. M. OTTE.

AUTOMOBILE LAMP. APPLICATION FILED JULY 11. 1912.

1,26%489. Patented Mar. 26, 1918.

@THO M. OTTJE, 01E JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK.

AUTOMOBILE-LAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. July 17, 1917. Serial no. 180,994.

To all whom it-may concewn:

Be it known that I, OTHO M. OTTE, a citizen of the United States, residin at the city of Jamestown, in the county of hautauqua and State of New York, have invented cer- 'tain new and useful Improvements in Automobiles-Lamps, of which the following, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The invention relates to lamps for vehicles and similar constructions wherein it is desired to project the light for a particular purpose; and the object of the improvement is to provide an oblong parabolic shaped reflector formed of two half paraboloids connected by a fiat strip so that the light emitted by the lamp is projected in a single shaft which has greater width than height, the peculiar formation of said parabolic reflector being such that said shaft of light is widened by a flare projection which covers a well defined area as, for example, the width of a roadway, provision being made for protecting the vision of bystand- .ers or passersby by means of a tubular screen in which the concentric tubes are given the ferent parts, the direction of the reflected rays of light being shown by dotted and arrow heads. Fig. 2 is" a perspectlve view of the compound parabolic reflector, the front'tubular ortion of the shell being broken away and t e flattened section of the larger reflector being shown in dotted. line.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional representation of the reflected shaft of light showmg with the eentraleondensed shaft through the same. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of-theinner end of the central tube showing the complementary rin reflector on said inner end, Fig. 5 is a 'ametral sectional view the broad or oblong shape of the shaft at line 55 in Fig. 6 showin in dotted line the difference between the diametral vertical section shown in Fig. 1 and this diametral horizontal section. Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the lamp showing by dotted llnes the arrangement of the flattened vertical central portions in the vision protectlng tubes and the section in the parabolic reflector, as well as the cylindrical central tubes. Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view at line 77 in Fig. 6, showing the peculiar contraction of the flared rays of reflected light at this point in the construction of the lamp; and Fig. 8 is a hori- Patented Mar. so, rare.

zontal sectional view at line 88 in Fig. 6

showing the still further contraction of the rays of light except the central rays through the cylindrical central tubes. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of the flat reflector section showing the direction of the flared rays of light from said section.

Like characters of reference refer to corresponding parts in the several views.

The numeral 10 designates the outer 0blong shell or casing of the lamp, which casing is preferably made of thin sheet metal,-

having openings at each end, the front'end of the shell 10 being tubular, in the form of a circle flattened on its upper and under sides or somewhat elliptical and corresponding to the shape and diameter of the larger end of the dome or parabolic reflector.

The front end of the shell 10 is closed'by .means of an oblong glass 11 which is held in place by a metal rim 12, preferably with a rubber gasket 13 beneath the same and between said glass 11 and the spacing ring 14.

The inner shell 15 is shaped in the peculiar oblong or flattened form substantially the same as the outer shell 10 and is held in spaced relation thereto at thefront end by means of the spacing ring 14 and'near the rear end by the spacing ring 16, the outer shell 10 and. he inner shell 15 being attached to the spacing rings 14 and 16 in any suitable manner.

The inner shell 15 comprises the oblong or elliptical shaped parabolic -or domeshaped reflector 17 and the front cylindrical portion.- The inner surface of the parabolic reflector 17 is polished or coated with a reflecting substance and the oblong tubular or cylindrical front portion of the shell llllt 15 is uncoated. The shape of the reflector the lines XX and YY; thus the outer .portions, that is, the parts outside of the lines XX and Y Y, are the perfect halves of a circle which are separated by the inset flattened parts.

The width of the flattened part Z in the reflector 17 is proportioned to the width of the flare which is desired at the front of the lamp. Thus, as shown in the diagram in Fig. 9, the reflected lightfrom said flattened area of the portion Z forms a cone, the base of which is the desired width of the flared cone of light at the front of the lamp and the apex of said cone is back of said flattened strip Z a distance equal to the distance of the source of light 18 in front of said strip Z. The entire reflector 17 is bi-' sected by a vertical strip inserted between the two halves of the parabolic'reflector, said strip having a single curvature and coinciding incontour to the central cross section curvature of said parabolic reflector. It may be superimposed or integral without departing from my invention.

The central portion of the oblong parabolic reflector 17 has an opening 19 therein surrounded by a curved flange 20 into which a smaller parabolic reflector 21 is sprung, being made to fit closely within said curved spring flange 20 which thereby holds the smaller reflector 21 firmly in position upon and so related to the larger parabolic reflector 17 that it closes the small opening in the-center of the same.

The two reflectors 17 and 21 are substantially continuous, that is, the shape of the smaller reflector 21 is such that the largest radii of said smaller reflector 21 are less than the shorter radii of the greater reflector 17 of light and is mounted in a suitable lamp holder 22 supported in the center of the small reflector 21 and has the connecting wires 23 leading to the source of electrical energy. The electric lamp 18 or source of light when mounted in the holder 22 is so placed in relation to the reflectors 17 and 21 that the center of the light is at that point which will best be reflected by the two reflectors in their relation to each other.

The casing 10 has an opening in its rear end for the insertion of the smaller reflector 21, which opening is closed by a screw cap 24 thereby providing easy access to the smaller reflector 21 for the adjustment orrepair of the lamp 18 and its connections 23.

In order to protect the vision of the bystander or passerby from the dazzling glare of the lamp, a vision protecting screen is provided comprising a plurality of concentric parallel tubes 25 which are shaped in the oblong circular form as described for the front portions of the shells 10 and 15. The parallel tubes 25 are held in spaced relation by radial wires 26 which extend through and are attached to each of said concentric tubes 25 and the assembled concentric tubes 25 are mounted in the tubular front portion of the inner shell 15, the front ends of said tubes being placed a spaced distance from the .glass 11 in order to give heat circulation and thence they extend back to the beginning of the parabolic reflector 17. Each of the vision protecting screen tubes 25 has the flattened portion 27, as shown in front elevation in Fig. 6 between the lines XX and Y-Y. The central tube rear end of the tube 28'supports the ring reflector 32 by means of which a portion of the central rays of light are reflected into the smaller reflector 21 and thence through the central tubes 28 and 29, the lens 31 refracting all the direct and reflected rays into parallel lines so that a strong central shaft 33 of light is projected throu h the lighted area or field, as shown in ig. 3, thereby brilliantly lighting the special portion of the track upon which the wheels of the vehicle mo 10.

I claim as new 1. In an automobile lamp, a reflector composed of two half paraboloids connected by flattened parts, and a vision intercepting screen composed of spaced concentric tubes flattened on their upper and lower sides to correspond and extend parallel to the respective flattened parts of the reflector.

2. In an automobile lamp, a reflector composed of two half paraboloids connected by flattened parts, and a vision intercepting screen composed of a central circular tube, a lens in the tube, and spaced concentric tubes surrounding the central tube and being flattened on their upper and lower sides to correspond and extend parallel to the respective flattened parts of the reflector.

3. In an automobile lamp, a reflector composed of two half paraboloids connected by flattened parts, and a vision intercepting screen composed of a central circular tube, a lens in the tube, a second circular tube in, said firstnamed tube arranged in front of the lens, and spaced concentric tubes surrounding the central tube and being flattened on their upper and lower sides to correspond and extend parallel to the respective flattened parts of the reflector.

4. An automobile lamp comprising a reflector composed of two half paraboloids connected by flattened parts, a source of light central of said reflectors to reflect the light in parallel lines therefrom, a centra light concentrating tube in front of said source of light, a lens mounted in said central tube a spaced distance in front of said source of light, a complementary ring reflector on the inner end of said central tube A to aid in reflecting the rays of light through said tube, a vision protecting screen consisting of concentric tubes held in spaced relation around said central tube, said spaced concentric tubes flattened on their upper and under sides in conformity with said compound parabolic reflector to give a wide shaft of light.

5. In a lamp a source of light, a reflector composed of two half paraboloids connected by a flat strip, said strip having a single curvature and coinciding in contour to the central cross section curvature of said parabolic reflector, a vision intercepting screen having flat planes, saidstrip having a flattened area of width that will allow the reflected light from said strip to form a cone the base of which is the width of the flat plane in the vision intercepting screen and the apex is back of said strip a distance equal to the distance of the source of light in front of said strip.

6. In a lamp, a'source of light, a reflector composed of two half paraboloids connected by flattened top and bottom parts, a condensing lens, a circular tube alined with the lens, and a screen surrounding the tube and having flattened top and bottom parts.

7. In a lamp, a source of light, a reflector shaped to provide a wide flat lighted area, vision intercepting means having flat bottom parts, and a lens to project a circular shaft of light in the center of said area.

In testimony whereof I have afixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

OTHQ M. orrnf Witnesses:

H. A. SANDBERG, R. V. CONNER. 

